A Day in the Sun

In the fine June weather, along the chain of lakes bordering their city, hundreds of East Berliners stripped to essentials and relaxed in the sun. They were not to remain undisturbed for long. Out of the blue appeared a steamer with huge loudspeakers mounted on its decks; it began cruising slowly off the beaches, barking Red propaganda at the sunbathers.

"Of course it's nice," wrote the Communist Neues Deutschland, explaining the purpose of the new Aufklaerungsdampfer (enlightenment steamer), "to lie in the broiling sun and let the mind wander [but] amid the joy over peace it is all too easy to forget that one has to do something to preserve peace. Today one can discuss [world affairs] at complete ease in a bathing suit on the beach or floating in a fat inner tube . . . Should excitable natures flare up during the discussion, there is a simple solution--jump in the water."

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